Summary Chapter 14

• since Atticus decided to defend Tom Robinson in his trial, Jem and Scout are also made victims of the prejudices of the townspeople
• when Scout attempts to ask Atticus what "rape" means, it becomes obvious that the children went to the black church with Calpurnia and Aunt Alexandra forbids them to go visit that church the next Sunday
• Aunt Alexandra tries to coax Atticus into firing Calpurnia since they don‘t need her - however, Atticus refuses
• in the night, Jem asks Scout not to provoke Aunt Alexandra which is why Scout gets upset and which is why she attacks Jem
• Atticus intervenes, sending them to bed
• Scout discovers that Dill is hiding unter her bed
• because his new father and his mother didn‘t care about Dill anymore, he ran away, took the train to get to Maycomb Junction and walked the rest of the way and spend some of it on the back of a cotton wagon
• Jem tells Atticus who asks Scout to get Dill some more food
• Atticus goes to their neighbour Miss Rachel - Dill‘s aunt - to tell her that Dill has run away
• Dill goes to sleep in Jem‘s bed but then comes to Scout‘s bed and talks with her

Summary Chapter 15

• a week after the Finch family discovered that Dill has run away, a group of men comes to Atticus in the evening
• Tom Robinson is supposed to move to the Maycomb jail and the men are worried about the possibility of a lynch mob
• Jem tells Scout about an argument he has overheard between Aunt Alexandra and Atticus
• Alexandra makes Atticus responsible for having brought disgrace over the family due to his decision to defend Tom Robinson
• the next evening, Atticus leaves for the town and Jem, Scout and Dill sneak after him
• they find Atticus sitting in front of the jail reading a newspaper
• the three of them decide to head back home without doing anything
• the very same moment, four cars appear and park close to the jail; the men in the cars get out and demand Atticus to move away
• Atticus refuses to do so when Scout leaves her hiding spot, followed by Jem and Dill
• Atticus demands them to return home, yet Jem refuses
• one of the men threatens both Atticus and the children and tells them that the children have fifteen seconds to leave
• Scout recognizes the father of her classmate Walter Cunningham and starts talking to him, asking him to tell Walter "hey" from her
• the men are shocked and Mr. Cunningham seems to feel ashamed and assures Scout that he will say "hey" to his son; afterwards, he calls that meeting with his men in front of the jail off
• they leave and Mr. Underwood who owns the newspaper appears at a nearby window
• he points to his shotgun, saying "Had you covered all the time, Atticus"
• Atticus and Mr. Underwood talk for a bit, then Atticus heads home with his children

Function

• Aunt Alexandra as embodiment of the rules and customs of the world of the grown-ups
• Dill‘s reappearance
  
  • Scout‘s opportunity to escape the strict adult world
  • also symbolizes the widening gap between Scout and Jem
  • Jem has transcended into adulthood: first, by telling Scout to act more like a girl, second by telling Atticus that Dill is hiding under Scout‘s bed
  • marks Jem‘s maturation towards adulthood
  • reminds the Finch children of their own luck having Atticus as a wonderful father and even Aunt Alexandra cares about them
• adult world in the center of the children‘s lifes
  
  • influenced by Tom Robinson‘s trial
  • encounter with the lynch mob
  • Jem‘s refusal to go home marks his turning into a boy
  • Scout‘s still intact innocence (marked by chatting with Mr. Cunningham even though she faces a lynch mob)
  • Scout still believes in the goodness of people; in turn, Mr. Cunningham acknowledges Scout‘s goodness